Bloodborne: first impressions of my first five hours

By Gemma @Juicy Game Reviews

Now we all know that Bloodborne is a PS4 exclusive and on the first evening of the European release of Bloodborne I spent around five hours with the game. I felt the need to share my thoughts of this long awaited instalment from Hidetaka Miyazaki, famed creator of the Souls series. Miyazaki was interviewed by the Playstation team and here's what he had to say about his new game, Bloodborne on the PS4: 

There are several reasons why you need a sense of horror in the world, especially with Bloodborne, which has a more chilling world view than Souls. It’s not like horror is something we specifically go for, but it’s important to have that sense of fear and terror because it directly ties into the player overcoming that and enhancing their sense of achievement.

“To create a game world that is always kind to players – that’s not how I see the real world.”

At the same time, my personal view is that the world we live in can be a harsh and unkind place. To create a game world that is always kind to players – that’s not how I see the real world. Whether it be nature or society, it’s often a harsh and unkind environment – so that translates into my games.

Yharnam is a dark, damp and demonic place and I felt this from the get go. I didn't feel a sense of fear but more like a sense of war. I didn't expect this. My perception of Bloodborne during the build up was one of fear so I was a little startled when I felt like I was the Solid Snake of the Victorian era; powerful, feisty and ready to kill.

Bloodborne PS4: erm yeah Bloodborne

Bloodbore PS4: Are we hot yet?

Visually Bloodborne looks stunning as I commented in my preview, From Software made great use of the light. I love how the light bounces from the puddles as it adds to the damp feel of the streets and dungeons. During my first five hours I found the odd aesthetic beauty in Bloodborne to be consistent from the shining gold reflections on the carriages to the burnt orange skies. I'm dying to discover more.

Let's talk about difficulty. Notoriously the Soul's games were incredibly difficult to beat and even more difficult to make sense of. I felt a large level of dread as I went in to Yharnam for the first time. To my surprise, Bloodborne does not feel as punishing as the Soul's series and there's a level of lineage that I preferred over the Soul's games. I could go thirty minutes without dying in Bloodborne compared to an average of five disastrous minutes in Dark Soul's 2. Personally this is a welcome change for me as my desire to progress is great! Yes it's great! As a little tip for you guys, check this article out as it makes some interesting points on how to change the difficulty setting.

Bloodborne: Check out those colours

Saving your progress is everything in Bloodborne. Well, if you can find a checkpoint. I was frustrated at the lack of check points within my allotted first five hours which meant that I had be up my game to avoid imminent death. If you are not familiar with the Souls games or class yourself as an amateur player then I would probably give Bloodborne a miss. Continuing with the theme of difficulty, I found the menu systems to be a whole lot easier to cycle through. Within minutes of dropping in to Bloodborne I believed I had locked down around 90% of where I needed to go to access various items. Compared to Dark Soul's 2 whereby I played for an hour before I felt comfortable with selecting items and weapons from the menu wheel.

Bloodborne PS4: A much easier and straight to the point menu

I have no doubt that you will enjoy Bloodborne. I think Hidetaka Miyazaki and his team have captured the essence of what the fans wanted. I wanted an easier game than Dark Souls 2 and I got it! For that reason alone, I am content. I know that I have a way to go yet but my first five hours were a great five hours.

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Thanks guys and gals, Gemma aka Juicy Game Reviews.